Glossary
PDX: Portland International Airport. PDX is situated within a residential metropolitan area and has established commercial flight paths in line with airport runways. The North and South runways both run parallel with the Columbia River.
ORANG: Oregon Air National Guard, the air component of the National Guard under control of the Governor of Oregon. The 142nd has a base at PDX. The existence of a military base at a major civilian airport is unique to Portland, Oregon.
OCDA: Overhead Continuous Descent Approach. The OCDA is an "overhead break," which is a landing procedure used by military pilots to expedite landings in potentially hostile areas. This maneuver has fighter jets circle over Portland residential neighborhoods twice in route to the runway(s) at PDX. Also referred to as the OHCDA, CDOA, and CDA. Fighter jets executing the OCDA arrive in groups of 2 to 4 jets at speeds faster than civilian aircraft. When ORANG practices this maneuver at PDX, fighter jets fly at low altitudes over civilian residential communities, thus creating at least two acts of noise pollution on the ground. The high speeds produce louder noise than conventional lower speed approaches. The OCDA establishes new flight paths and resultant noise levels over areas that historically had none. See Appendix “A” OCDA Flight Paths.
Port of Portland: A State of Oregon entity that serves as the Portland International Airport’s owner, operator, proprietor. The Port of Portland will be paid a total of $1.00 in rent by ORANG for leasing the land at PDX for the next 50 years.
PDX Noise Management Office: The office within the Portland International Airport management hierarchy that manages the Noise Abatement Program, supervises the CNAC, and serves as the interface between the community and the airport.
CNAC: Citizen Noise Advisory Committee: A Port of Portland advisory committee, comprised of community members from the Portland metro area, focused on aviation noise issues. CNAC's recommendations are non-binding.
NoJetsPortland.com: Portland neighborhood activist group and petition with over 1,400 Portlanders committed to stopping ORANG's use of the OCDA over Portland residential areas. NoJetsPortland.com is not opposed to military jets landing at PDX or ORANG's mission and presence at PDX.
ECNA: East Columbia Neighborhood Association. ECNA is a City of Portland recognized organizational entity.
Woodlawn NA: Woodlawn Neighborhood Association. Woodlawn NA is a City of Portland recognized organizational entity.
CAN: Cully Association of Neighbors. CAN is a City of Portland recognized organizational entity. Due to a combination of geography, meteorology, and classism, Cully is the neighborhood that has experienced the most negative effects of the OCDA.
CNN: Central Northeast Neighbors. CNN is a City of Portland recognized association of Northeast Portland neighborhoods.
NPNS: North Portland Neighborhood Services. NPNS is a City of Portland recognized association of North Portland neighborhoods.
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration. FAA is charged with providing safe and efficient aerospace.
NEPA, EIS, EA: The National Environmental Policy Act governs all actions taken by federal, state, and private entities working with federal facilities or funded by federal funds. EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and EA (Environmental Assessment) refer to different levels of review and documentation. An EA or EIS is generally required when a federal agency proposes actions that result in significant impacts.
WHO: World Health Organization. The WHO recognizes "noise" as a form of pollution.
